For the Love of an Ipod

I talk a lot about running but I know you don't have to run to get fit, there are so many wonderful ways to exercise. I chose to run because I couldn't afford the YMCA membership - the money or the commute time. I had walked as fast as I could and I had plateaued. I had to up my heart rate, and running was the next step. It is cheap, and I just have to step outside. You can pick any way that works for you, but you can't lose weight without doing something!!!

Its important for me to be able to know what I am doing, I hate to find out after the fact that there was an easier way. If you go to a gym, find out info from a trainer, if you walk, find things about it on the Internet. I subscribe to “Runners World” I love the ideas that I read there, this past issue includes one man’s (Rob Burnett) way he gets through tough runs. He uses his play list to distract him. He explains:

"For me, running songs have one purpose and one purpose only: to distract. They need to take my mind off the marathon three minutes at a time.”

He then defends his play list from his assistants who mock him for choosing ELO’s “Don’t Bring Me Down”

“There is a man passionately singing that he does not under any circumstances want to be brought down. His desperate plea engulfs me with a burning question every time I hear the song: ‘Who or what is bringing him down? Oh, how chorus after chorus he tries to tell me, “’Don’t bring me dowwwnnnn – Bruce?’ ‘Greuss?’ ‘Stroose?’ What is that word? Doesn’t he realize I can’t help him unless I know? And just like that, three minutes of my run is behind me. Distraction."

The implication is that if he must be distracted from running, then, he doesn’t love the doing, but the being, and has to do it (run), to be it (a runner). I really thought that those who say that they love to run were genetically different from me. I now know that someone who “Loves to exercise” is no different from you or I, they still hurt. They have just trained their brain you redefine “loving”.

So, my redefinition is, I love my ipod, I run to justify the money it cost and the joy I get from dancing at 5:30 every morning. The investment of that $140.00 has paid me back by some major distraction which I need desperately. I use podcasts, which, if you are as old as I am and wrote your college papers by renting time on the library’s state of the art typewriters, you may or may not quite get - yet. Ask an 8 year old to help you understand. There are two LDS podcasts I subscribe to that give a classic or recent talk from church leaders every day "Classic Speeches" and "LDS voices". I also subscribe to NPR and some of their podcasts, like “Wait Wait, Don’t Tell Me”, “Car Talk”, and “NPR’s Most Emailed Stories”.

I listen to those when I have a nice gentle run, when I am running downhill or walking, but when I go as hard as I can I use downloaded songs that make me want to dance.

When I was a little girl I used to plug my ears and say “I CAN’T HEAR YOU LALALALALA” I do just that when the lazy in me starts to talk, When my alarm goes off at 5:15, I grab my Ipod and pop in my earbuds. I start my warm up there. My heart starts pumping, “Let’s get it started…huh! Let’s get it started in heeere”. No longer can I hear the whines of lazy me, telling me why I should sleep. I get out of bed. I brush my teeth to Abba while imagining myself running with knee socks and head out the door feeling 16 again. It makes me happy. And you know what Proverbs says:

"A Merry heart doeth good like a medicine...(Proverbs 17:22)

I am including some songs from my playlist, please tell us your "feel like moving distraction" songs. We could all use some good ideas!

Some of My Playlist
Don't Bring Me Down (I have a son named Bruce - one of my all time favorite songs!)
This Love (Junior Sirius edit)
Superstition (Stevie Wonder)
Hold On (KT Tunstall)
Wake Up Call (Maroon 5)
I'll Fly Away (Acapella)
Vertigo (U2)
A little Less Conversation -(Elivis remix by King Junior)
Play that funky Music (Wild Cherry)
Take a Chance on Me (Abba)
Mamma Mia (Abba)
Any Dream Will Do (Donny Osmond)
Swinging on a Star (Bing Crosby)
Diamonds on the Soles of her Shoes (Paul Simon)
Peroxide Swing (Michael Buble)
etc......